Latching device for safety exit-doors.



ATENTED APR. 1905.

G. a Hmmm LATGHING UEVIGE PGR SAFETY EXW Doom.

APPLICATION IILED FEB.5.1904.

A TTOHNE VS framework at 6, and the back at 7.

UNTTED STATES Patented April 4, 1905.

PATENT Orricn.

GEORGE EDWIN REDDEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSGNOR OF ONE- FOURTH TO GEORGE W. MOREHEAD, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

LATCHING DEVICE FOR SAFETY EXlT-DGGRS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 786,680, dated April 4, 1905.

Application filed February 5, 1904. Serial No. 192,112.

.To @Zt whom it Tft/ty concern:

Be it known that l, GEORGE EDWIN REDDEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of 4the city of New York, borough ol' Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York,

have invented a new and Improved Latching' Device for Safety Exit-Boers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to safety exit-doors and admits of general use, but is of peculiar value in theaters and other auditoriums in which it may be necessary as, for instance, in case of lire or of a panic-for people to readily escape from the building.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an exitdoor equipped with my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the door having its lid open relatively to its body portion. Fig. 3 is a vertical section upon the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow, and Fig. 4 is asection upon the line 4 4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow.

The jamb of the door is shown at 5, the

A swinging lid 8 is movable relatively to the back 7 of the door and to the framework 6, asindicated in Figs. 1 and Properly speaking, the door consists of two general members, one comprising the framework or hollow box-like portions 6, having the back 7, the other consisting of the lid or supplemental door 8, secured upon the framework 6 'by means of hinges 9, and adapted to serve as a closure for said member 6, and thus cover and protect the mechanism within as well as allow convenient access thereto and to act thereon for automatically opening the door as a whole. rlhe door as an entirety is provided with hinges 10, whereby it swings bodily with relation to the lamb 5.

Mounted upon the back 7 is a bracket 11, upon which is pivoted a lever 12, provided with a counterweight 13. Actuated by this lever 12 are the bolts 14 15, provided with beveled portions 16 17 for normally maintaining' the door closed and locked. The bolts 14 15 are preferably provided with slots 18 19, through which pass the bolts 2O 21, these bolts being provided with buttons 22 23, which are capable of being turned, so that the bolts may be removed. A toggle-lever is formed of two pieces 24 25, which are articulated at the point 26, and one end of such toggle-lever is permanently attached to the door and the other end to the lever 12 at the point 27. Pressure upon the knuckle 26 of the toggle-lever therefore causes the pivot 27 to move inward and the weight 13 to move upward. A bracket 2S is mounted upon the back 7 of the door, and a short lever 29 is pivoted within this bracket, as shown, the bolts 14 15 being connected with this lever and movable thereby.

A number of buttons 30 are placed upon dili'erent portions of the framework 6 and are used to secure the lid 8 in closed position. The lid 8 has a limited movement inward, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

rlhe usual liXtures-such as the posts 31, chairs 32, and railings 33-are disposed in their respective relation and have little or nothing to do with my invention. A rod 34 is connected with the lever 12, and this rod is provided at its upper end with a head 35, having a keyholel 36. ln order to unlock the door, a key is inserted through the back 7 into the key-hole 36 and pressed directly downward. This causes the lever 12 to tilt, raising the weight 13 and withdrawing the beveled portions 16 17 of the bolts 14 15, thereby unlocking the door and allowing the saine to swing outward, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4. Unless the door is thus unlocked by means of a key it cannot be opened from the outside-that is to say, a person standingoutside the door-that is, in the position represented bythe upper portion of Fig. 4-is unable to open the door except by the aid of a key. Persons disposed upon the other or inner side ofthe door, however, can open it quite readily. The least pressure upon the lid 8 causes the same to nieve into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, thereby slightly flatvease@ tening' the toggles 2e 25, as indicated by dotted lines in this figure, thus moving' the lever l2 and withdrawing the bolts.

lt will be understood, of course, that people desiring to escape hurriedly from a theater or auditorium of any kind usually rush pellniell against a door. In the case o1 my improved door the lirst person to run against or even to touch it g'ently with the linger causes it to open. In a case of a blind rush of people or of the movements of a single individual the door swings open, as indicated by dotted lines in e;

Having' thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by `Letters Patent l. In a safety exiirdoor, the combination of a hollow vframe provided with a back, a lever pivotally mounted within said frame and provided with a counterweig'ht, a plurality et' bolts, mechanism connecting the same with said lever, a lid journaled adjacent te said ie-,

GEORGE EDY/VIN REDDEN.

Witnessesz HENRY D. Co'r'r, ERSKINE H. LoT'r. 

